Town's first Pride will celebrate 'inclusion'

A Gloucestershire town is staging its first Pride parade to celebrate "inclusion".

There will be a family disco and a drag takeover at Wotton-under-Edge's event on Saturday 15 June.

Wotton Pride director, Becki Britton-Griffiths, said she hoped the one-day festival would create a lasting legacy for the town.

"Wotton is a very inclusive place but it doesn't actually say that we are really inclusive, necessarily on the tin, because we don't have a Pride," she said.

"I've got a child, and I've got another one on the way.

"I'm keen to make sure that this is a bit of a legacy for Wotton, so that they (her children) know that they aren't different, and that growing up in a same-sex family is just the same and just as legitimate as everybody else."

Kicking off at 1:30 BST, the parade will start from Ludgate Hill car park.

Shops will be flying rainbow flags and some cafes plan to serve a special Pride menu.

"Everybody has shown a willingness to be involved and to participate in some way, shape or form," she said.

It is hoped the event will grow in future years.

"We are just dipping our toes in the water to see what we can achieve in a very short space of time," she said.

"Next year we'd love to grow bigger and better and expand on what we learn this year."

A drag takeover - including games, singing and dancing - will take place from 7.30 BST at Under The Edge Arts.

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